Death on the Nile

Death on the Nile (1978)

A murderer strikes on board the luxury Nile steamer Karnak – and Hercule Poirot faces his most baffling case.

As Hercule Poirot enjoys a luxurious cruise down the Nile, a newlywed heiress is found murdered on board and every elegant passenger becomes a prime suspect.

Date of release
1978-09-29
TMDB
7.2 / 10 (964)
Runtime
2h 20m
Genres
Mystery
Director
John Guillermin
Collection
Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov) Collection

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Box office: $14.6M
  • Budget: $7.9M
  • Earned 1.8× its budget
  • Based on: Death on the Nile
  • Filmed in: Egypt and Pinewood Studios
  • Awards: 1 · Nominations: 4. Including: Academy Award for Best Costume Design

Death on the Nile is a 1978 British mystery film based on Agatha Christie's 1937 novel of the same name, directed by John Guillermin and adapted by Anthony Shaffer. The film features the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, played by Peter Ustinov for the first time, plus an all-star supporting cast that includes Maggie Smith, Angela Lansbury, Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, Jane Birkin, David Niven, George Kennedy, and Jack Warden. The film is a standalone sequel to the 1974 film Murder on the Orient Express.

Production

EMI Films had scored a huge success in 1974 with a film version of Murder on the Orient Express, and wanted a follow-up. The plan was to make Death on the Nile, but the rights could not be obtained, so in July 1975 EMI announced they would film Evil Under the Sun instead. However, these plans were postponed and the Nile rights secured.

The movie was made during a period of expansion for EMI Films under Michael Deeley and Barry Spikings, who were increasingly aiming at the international market with films like The Deer Hunter and Convoy. Death on the Nile was a more traditionally British film. Nat Cohen of EMI sold the film to US television for more than its budget.

The director, John Guillermin, had just made two blockbusters, The Towering Inferno and King Kong.

Albert Finney played Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express, but did not wish to undergo the heavy make-up required for Poirot in the Egyptian sun. The producers felt if they could not get Finney they should go in a totally different direction and picked Peter Ustinov. "Poirot is a character part if ever there was one", said producer Richard Goodwin, "and Peter is a top character actor."

An all-star cast was employed. This was Jane Birkin's first British movie in a decade.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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